[2] The tree's dense and bushy crown is composed of thickish, tough main branches, at the end of which are clusters of deciduous, greenish, 15-to-30-cm long branchlets.

The branchlets bear alternate leaves that are ovate or lanceolate in form, with short petioles and pointed ends.

[2][3] This tropical or subtropical species is found throughout Asia and also in the Caribbean region, Central and South America.

[2][3][4] It was found in other parts of South Asia early; according to Eduardo Quisumbing, it was brought to the Philippines in prehistoric times.

[2] It is also found in Puerto Rico (where the fruit is called grosella), Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname (where it's also called grosella, as well as ronde, birambi or guinda depending on the region), US Virgin Islands, Peru and Brazil.

While it produces some fruit throughout the year, it is mainly harvested in January except in South India, where it bears crops in April–May and again in August–September.

[3] While the fruit is eaten fresh, and is sometimes used as flavoring for other dishes in Indonesia, it is generally regarded as too tart to eat by itself in its natural form and is processed further.

In the Philippines, it is used to make vinegar as well as eaten raw, soaked in salt or vinegar-salt solution and sold along the roadside.

The peppered leaves are used to make a poultice to treat sciatica, lumbago and rheumatism (but have been observed to cause low blood pressure when combined with nitrates), while the seeds are used as a cathartic and the root, if prepared with care, as a purgative.